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manta rays swimming in the shallow ocean with coral
Fort Myers, FL

Defenders of Wildlife Applauds Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for Tightening Protections for Listed Species

Defenders of Wildlife welcomes today’s action by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to end open permitting for the capture of ESA-threatened marine species in Florida waters for public display and exhibition purposes.
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NARW
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Legal Intervention Aims to Protect North Atlantic Right Whales From Deadly Ship Strikes

Conservation groups today filed a motion to intervene to help fight a lawsuit aimed at overturning a seasonal speed rule protecting North Atlantic right whales from deadly vessel strikes. The groups want to defend the rule against a lawsuit brought by a New York vessel owner fined for violating seasonal speed limits. The suit alleges that NOAA Fisheries lacked the statutory authority to issue the rule.
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sage grouse in snow at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge
Washington, D.C.

Final Rescission of Public Lands Rule Reverses Modern Land Management, Threatens Wildlife Habitat

The Bureau of Land Management today announced a decision to roll back the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, commonly referred to as the Public Lands Rule. The policy modernized how BLM manages our national public lands and represented the critical incorporation of ecological resilience into management alongside traditional resource extraction.

Press Releases

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Fall Tundra Izembek NWR

Documents Reveal Interior Department’s Secret Plan to Build Road through Wilderness Refuge

Public records obtained by Defenders of Wildlife pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request reveal that the Department of the Interior is planning a potentially illegal land exchange to remove wilderness wetlands in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska from federal public ownership for the construction of a controversial, damaging and unnecessary road.

Timeline of Dunes Sagebrush Lizard Regulatory Activities and Milestones

The dunes sagebrush lizard has a long history with attempts to be listed under the Endangered Species Act. Click on this link or the image

Bishop Bill Takes Aim at Antiquities Act

WASHINGTON ­– Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT 1) today submitted for markup H.R. 3990, a bill that threatens to dismantle the Antiquities Act, the 1906 law

ARCTIC REFUGE DRILLING ADVANCES IN CONGRESSIONAL BUDGETS

WASHINGTON – Today, the House of Representatives approved a Fiscal Year 2018 budget bill that advances drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Senate

Recovery Plan for California’s Giant Garter Snake Released

SAN FRANCISCO (Oct. 5, 2017) – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) released its long overdue final recovery plan for the giant garter snake
Senior Vice President, External Affairs
lsheehan@defenders.org
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jcovey@defenders.org
Communications Specialist
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